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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Looney Toons

A Rant:

A cartoon claiming todepict the Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings be upon him), hasappeared in newspapers world-wide. The toon is said to depict a manwith a bomb-shaped turban, and it was intended to be our belovedProphet Muhammad.

There havebeen so many inquiries as to why the Muslim community have not spokenout against the violence.

Uh...excuseme?

There needs to be aninquiry as to why most Media ignores us Muslims when we do?

WhenMuslims donate to causes or condemn violence, there is little newsconcerning this.

In my city,there are about 3 or 4 media organizations within walking distance toa masjid(mosque if you will), and within a few kilometers of a major24 hour cable news organization. How many of them are eager to hearthe Muslim voices in America who do condemn violence?

Attimes like these, I often find myself in the,

"Lordplease don't let them be..." (choose a., b., c. or d.)

1.a. Muslim2. b. Black3.c. a Woman4. d. All of theabove

...because really,if one of us does or is accused of something terrible, it is somehowinstantly inherent in all of us to do that very thing. Whereas whenone of us does something wonderful or admirable, they are considered"tokens" who represent few to none of us, if we are evenacknowledged at all.

Theperception of Muslims worldwide is not even the thing the worries methe most. I am used to that part. The real questions are, "Whendo Muslims learn that nothing can be achieved by simply being violentand ignorant?", "Has this behavior gotten anyone anywhereat any time?",and lastly "Can you give me an example ofsuccess with this type of behavior?".

Successis with those who hold steadfast to Islam and it is our Prophet(peacebe upon him) who remains the example. This means that we can't havesuccess when we behave in a way that is outside of this example, andif you think you do, then the joke is on you.

Anotherissue. We are Muslims now but our predecessors may not have been.When Islam was established, there were people of many cultures andtribes who were attracted to it. Why do you think that is? Do youthink it is because Muslims rioted, burned, became irrational, andscared people have to death? Emphatically NO!

Holocaustcartoons?

They have got to bejoking. Why someone would make fun of this speaks volumes about theirhumanity. Allah is the Judge of His creation. Far too many groups ofpeople have undergone genocide. Shall the Muslims be made light of ifsuch a thing happens to them? Oh wait! I forgot! It is happening nowin Sudan.

Let's show our loveof the Prophet(peace and blessing be upon him) by operating in a wayin which would please Allah. Let us err on the side of caution ratherthan err on the side of emotion.